Avoiding Sand Traps Of Real Life

WILLIAMSBURG — Kim and Casey Hall met at a Las Vegas wedding, but there were no drunken 3 a.m. vows and no Elvis sightings involved.

"We weren't at a drive-through chapel, so that's good," Casey Hall said. "That's our saving grace. We were actually at a wedding place, a real church and everything."

Casey's best friend from high school was marrying his high school sweetheart, who just happened to be a golf teammate of Kim's at Stanford.

"It's one of those things where I was like, 'That guy was really nice, but I'm sure I'll never see him again,' " Kim said. "We exchanged phone numbers and he called me a couple of days later, and the rest is history, I guess."

Casey, on active duty in the Air Force, was training to fly F-16s in Phoenix, while Kim was still in college. After months of long-distance phone calls, the couple married in September 2004, when Casey was 26 and Kim was 23.

"When you're talking on the phone all the time, you actually get to know the person, versus all the other stuff that goes along with being in the same place," Casey said. "I felt like I knew who she was a lot more, or a lot sooner, than I would have if we had been in the same spot."

Kim, a two-time MVP at Stanford and three-time all-Pac 10 selection, was competing on the Futures Tour, a developmental arm of the LPGA. But her golf career was put on hold when the newlyweds were shipped off to Misawa Air Base in Japan shortly after the wedding.

While Kim was immediately struck by the hospitality of the on-base community, she still experienced a few eyebrow-raising moments.

"We had these things called coffees," Kim said. "Each month, one of the wives would host a coffee. It's just a little get-together in the early afternoon, some finger foods and something to drink. They would basically discuss what was coming up in the way of events, and stuff like that, and where the boys were gonna be a month from now: 'They have night flying this week and they have this this week,' and things were highlighted and color-coded. I had gone home and told Casey, 'Am I supposed to be that into your business?' ... I was like, I'll make breakfast in the morning and I'll have dinner ready at night, and I just kind of didn't think there would really be a whole lot else."

Reassured that Casey could keep track of his own schedule, Kim turned her to attention to trying to qualify for the Japanese tour. She didn't make it past the second of three rounds, but didn't completely leave the game. She gave $30 golf lessons on base to everyone from colonels to couples while mulling her future.

"Being in Japan was a really nice break for me, to really know that OK, I really missed golf, and the challenges of it," she said.

In July 2005, Casey and Kim returned stateside, to San Antonio, and Kim began to think seriously about qualifying school.

"I just said, 'Well, if you want to do it, then put in the effort, and I'll do whatever you want me to do,' " Casey said. "There's no reason why she should follow me around while I live out my dream. She should be able to do the same thing."

After earning a provisional tour card, Kim played 11 events in 2006, finishing tied for 18th at the Safeway Classic. While she took heart from being competitive, she didn't make enough money for a full-time card, and headed back to Q-school, thinking, "I know I'm ready for this. I know I belong on tour."

Tour spot secured, Kim tied for sixth at the CN Canadian Women's Open in 2007, the best finish of her career. This year, she tied for 10th at the MasterCard Classic in March, but has missed three straight cuts.

"When it's good, it's good, and then you start to think, 'Ah, I got the hang of this,' " Kim said. "That's when the golf gods come bite you right in the rear end."

Now stationed in Las Vegas with Byron, a golden retriever, Casey sees his wife about once a month. He's been unable to fly for several years because of a digestive condition, and won't be deployed.

"It's kind of like she's in the military and I'm not," he said. "She's the one who's gone all the time, and I stay home."

After Casey's four-year Air Force commitment ends, he'd like to find a way to see Kim more, perhaps with a job as a commercial airline pilot.

"It'd be nice to try to figure something out where the pressure isn't all on her to make money all the time," he said. "That can be tough in golf."

Casey did make it to Tulsa, Okla., last week to the SemGroup Championships. Though Kim missed the cut there, like she did at Kingsmill after shooting a two-day 6-over-par 148, having her husband in the crowd made everything easier.

"It's like such a breath of fresh air when I get off the course," Kim said. "He loves golf. He's such a fan, and loves that I'm out here. All of people, he wants me to do the best the most of everybody. He's always been supportive. I know he hates me being gone, but I don't know that he would really trade it."